Chapter 13

Call to Repent

1 Now on the same occasion there were some present who reported to Him about the Galileans whose blood aPilate had 1mixed with their sacrifices.

2 And Jesus said to them, “aDo you suppose that these Galileans were greater sinners than all other Galileans because they suffered this fate?

3 “I tell you, no, but unless you 1repent, you will all likewise perish.

4 “Or do you suppose that those eighteen on whom the tower in aSiloam fell and killed them were worse 1bculprits than all the men who live in Jerusalem?

5 “I tell you, no, but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.”

6 And He began telling this parable: “A man had aa fig tree which had been planted in his vineyard; and he came looking for fruit on it and did not find any.

7 “And he said to the vineyard-keeper, ‘Behold, for three years I have come looking for fruit on this fig tree 1without finding any. aCut it down! Why does it even use up the ground?’

8 “And he answered and said to him, ‘Let it alone, sir, for this year too, until I dig around it and put in fertilizer;

9 and if it bears fruit next year, fine; but if not, cut it down.’ ”

Healing on the Sabbath

10 And He was ateaching in one of the synagogues on the Sabbath.

11 And there was a woman who for eighteen years had had aa sickness caused by a spirit; and she was bent double, and could not straighten up at all.

12 When Jesus saw her, He called her over and said to her, “Woman, you are freed from your sickness.”

13 And He alaid His hands on her; and immediately she was made erect again and began bglorifying God.

14 But athe synagogue official, indignant because Jesus bhad healed on the Sabbath, began saying to the crowd in response, “cThere are six days in which work should be done; so come during them and get healed, and not on the Sabbath day.”

15 But athe Lord answered him and said, “You hypocrites, bdoes not each of you on the Sabbath untie his ox or his donkey from the stall and lead him away to water him?

16 “And this woman, aa daughter of Abraham as she is, whom bSatan has bound for eighteen long years, should she not have been released from this bond on the Sabbath day?”

17 As He said this, all His opponents were being humiliated; and athe entire crowd was rejoicing over all the glorious things being done by Him.

Parables of Mustard Seed and Leaven

18 So aHe was saying, “bWhat is the kingdom of God like, and to what shall I compare it?

19 “It is like a mustard seed, which a man took and threw into his own garden; and it grew and became a tree, and athe birds of the 1air nested in its branches.”

20 And again He said, “aTo what shall I compare the kingdom of God?

21 “aIt is like leaven, which a woman took and hid in bthree 1pecks of flour until it was all leavened.”

Teaching in the Villages

22 And He was passing through from one city and village to another, teaching, and aproceeding on His way to Jerusalem.

23 And someone said to Him, “Lord, are there just a few who are being saved?” And He said to them,

24 “aStrive to enter through the narrow door; for many, I tell you, will seek to enter and will not be able.

25 “Once the head of the house gets up and ashuts the door, and you begin to stand outside and knock on the door, saying, ‘bLord, open up to us!’ then He will answer and say to you, ‘cI do not know where you are from.’

26 “Then you will abegin to say, ‘We ate and drank in Your presence, and You taught in our streets’;

27 and He will say, ‘I tell you, aI do not know where you are from; bdepart from Me, all you evildoers.’

28 “aIn that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth when you see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, but yourselves being thrown out.

29 “And they awill come from east and west and from north and south, and will recline at the table in the kingdom of God.

30 “And behold, asome are last who will be first and some are first who will be last.”

31 Just at that time some Pharisees approached, saying to Him, “Go away, leave here, for aHerod wants to kill You.”

32 And He said to them, “Go and tell that fox, ‘Behold, I cast out demons and perform cures today and tomorrow, and the third day I 1areach My goal.’

33 “Nevertheless aI must journey on today and tomorrow and the next day; for it cannot be that a bprophet would perish outside of Jerusalem.

34 “aO Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, bjust as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you would not have it!

35 “Behold, your house is left to you desolate; and I say to you, you will not see Me until the time comes when you say, ‘aBlessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!’ ”